This invention relates in general to equipment for the analysis of liquids, and more particularly to a reactor for use in the analysis of polluted liquids.
In my prior patent application Ser. No. 179,964, filed Sept. 13, 1971, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,881 issued Dec. 17, 1974 there is described an analytical apparatus for determining the total quantity of organic carbon as a pollutant in an aquaeous stream. A sample of liquid is taken from the stream and reacted with acid to remove all of the inorganic carbon, i.e. carbonates, of the sample of formation of carbon dioxide. The acidified sample is scrubbed to remove all carbon dioxide produced by the carbonate-acid reaction, and the carbonate-free sample is introduced by a metering device into a reaction chamber, along with air for oxidizing the organic carbon of the sample to carbon dioxide. The gaseous and vapor reaction products in the effluent from the reaction chamber will therefore include water vapor and carbon dioxide. The water vapor portion of the effluent is ordinarily removed by a condensor or conventional liquid-gas separator, before passage to an infrared analyzer for measurement of the carbon dioxide component.
By the amount of carbon dioxide present in the reactor effluent, the amount of organic carbon originally present in the sample can be determined.
The subject invention is directed to a modified reactor structure that has been found to give somewhat better performance than the reactor configuration shown in my patent application Ser. No. 179,964.
The reactor of this invention comprises a housing, partition means disposed within said housing to define therein an inner flow passage and an outer flow passage disposed in laterally surrounding relation to said inner flow passage and flow connected therewith, means defining an inlet in said housing to accommodate the introduction therein of a liquid sample and a gas to be reacted with said sample, a packing material disposed in said inner flow passage to define therein an inlet plenum zone communicating with said inlet, and a packing material disposed in said outer flow passage, means defining an outlet in said housing communicating with said outer flow passage, and means operable to heat the packing material in said inner and outer flow passages to a temperature at which the sample is vaporized in said inlet plenum zone and the sample reacts with said gas while flowing therewith through said inner and outer passages in contact with the packing material, the gaseous and vapor reaction products of said sample and gas exiting the housing through said outlet.
The housing and partition means are expediently tubular cylindrical shells, arranged in generally coaxial relation between a pair of plates connected to the ends of the larger diameter shell forming therewith an enclosed housing. The inner flow passage is thus cylindrical and is communicated with the annular outer flow passage by slots in the inner shell.
The packing material in used both flow passages is chemically inert and is of a material such as ceramic, glass, quartz and the like. Expediently, the packing material is in the form of relatively small balls which are of a quantity sufficient to occupy approximately the entire volume of the outer flow passage and about one-half the volume of the inner flow passage. These balls are disposed one against the other so as to provide in such flow passages voids accommodating fluid flow therethrough.
The inlet of the reactor is expediently on the upper cover plate, such that the sample and reagent gas, usually air, introduced through the inlet enters the inlet plenum zone defined by the open space above the packing in the inner flow passage, the liquid components of the sample are vaporized before contacting the packing, and then vapor and gas mixture flows downward through the inner passage, radially outward into the outer passage, and upward therethrough.
On the outer wall of the housing is provided an outlet communicating with a second housing which constitutes an outlet plenum chamber. The reaction products of the sample and air or other reagent gas exit through this outlet and are received in such plenum chamber where they undergo cooling before passing to subsequent apparatus and instruments.
As compared with the reactor described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,881, the reactor designed which is the subject of this application provides a packing material that is arranged in laterally surrounding relation to the inlet plenum zone and thereby provides a laterally inward heat flux to such plenum zone over the axial length thereof, and just at one end of the plenum zone as was the case in the aforesaid earlier reactor. This gives a more uniform temperature description within the inlet plenum zone and assures complete vaporization of any liquid sample before it contacts the packing material in the inner flow passage. In addition, the reaction products exit the reactor described herein through an outlet in the outer wall and pass through a second housing defining an outlet plenum chamber extending laterally away from the first housing containing the inner and outer flow passages. This second housing provides for cooling the reaction products and for separate drainage for such products as are condensed to liquid.
For a better understanding of the invention and its various advantages, reference should be had to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which together exemplify a preferred embodiment of the invention.